In this Feb. 11, 2016 file photo, Democratic presidential candidates, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, and Hillary Clinton argue a point during a Democratic presidential primary debate at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Milwaukee.

The Democratic presidential race arrives in Colorado this week with a once-confident Hillary Clinton campaign tempering expectations in a state where Bernie Sanders is poised to make a big showing in the March 1 caucus.

The two rivals will address the state Democratic Party’s annual fundraiser Saturday evening in back-to-back speeches, just as the contest hits full speed ahead of Super Tuesday.

Clinton and Sanders launched TV ad blitzes in Colorado this week and the campaigns plan to hold public events before the party’s minimum $150-a-plate dinner in downtown Denver.

The Sanders team is expecting thousands to attend a 3 p.m. rally at the Colorado Convention Center, while Clinton supporters Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly will host a smaller 1 p.m. roundtable on gun violence at Manual High School.

“It should be a good fight,” said Floyd Ciruli, a Denver-based political analyst in a recent blog post about the state’s caucus. “Clinton has an organization and a supportive Hispanic community, if they can be motivated. Of course, Sanders has liberal and young voters.”

The prime time attention builds on months of behind-the-scenes work in the state to organize the thousands of volunteers needed to navigate the state’s caucus process and win the state’s 78 delegates.

The campaign began investing in Colorado in the spring, when it located its first staffer in the state, and put down a permanent flag in September when it hired Gov. John Hickenlooper’s former campaign manager, Brad Komar, to run the operation. The campaign also recently hired a Latino outreach director.

Clinton’s team touts endorsements from 70 top Colorado officials — including Hickenlooper — as well as 1,000-plus volunteers working from 10 offices across the state.

Still, given the energy behind the Sanders camp and the close finish in the Iowa caucus, the Clinton team is acknowledging the political landscape.

“It’s a tough race in Colorado,” said Marlon Marshall, the Clinton campaign’s director of state operations. “The turf favors Sen. Sanders. But we knew it was going to be close and we will fight for every vote.”

The Sanders campaign is relying on supporter-organized networks that preceded the campaign’s entrance to the state in December, when it hired former Conservation Colorado organizer, Dulce Saenz to lead the effort. Sanders drew huge crowds to two college campus events, including an estimated 9,000 in Boulder in October.

Since then, the campaign opened four offices in the state and counted more than 2,000 volunteers, officials said.

“We are seeing a ton of new people to the process,” Saenz said, adding: “We are here to win.”

John Frank: 303-954-2409, jfrank@denverpost.com or @ByJohnFrank

Updated Feb 24, 2016 at 5:36p.m.Because of incorrect information provided by the Colorado Democratic Party, this story about the party’s annual fundraiser featuring Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders included incorrect delegate counts. Colorado Democrats have 78 delegates, 12 of which are superdelegates.

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